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Geoffrey A Ozin

Publications and source records attributed to Geoffrey A Ozin.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Shell cross-linked cylinders of polyisoprene-b-ferrocenyldimethylsilane: formation of magnetic ceramic replicas and microfluidic channel alignment and patterning.

Stable organometallic cylindrical nanostructures have been prepared by shell cross-linking of PI320-b-PFS53 wormlike micelles in hexane through metal-catalyzed hydrosilylation at 23 degrees C. The cross-linked structures permit the formation of cylindrical ceramic replicas containing size- and separation-tunable arrays of Fe nanoclusters. In addition, microfluidic alignment of the cross-linked cylinders was possible.

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Periodic mesoporous organosilicas containing interconnected [Si(CH2)]3 rings.

A periodic mesoporous organosilica composed of interconnected three-ring [Si(CH2)]3 units built of three SiO2(CH2)2 tetrahedral subunits is reported. It represents the archetype of a previously unknown class of nanocomposite materials in which two bridging organic groups are bound to each silicon atom. It can be obtained with powder and oriented film morphologies. The nanocomposite is self-assembled from the cyclic three-ring silsesquioxane [(EtO)2Si(CH2)]3 precursor and a surfactant mesophase to give a well-ordered mesoporous framework. Low dielectric constants and good mechanical stability of the films were measured, making this material interesting for microelectronic applications. Methylene group reactivity of the three-ring precursor provides entry to a family of nanocomposites, exemplified by the synthesis and self-assembly of [(EtO)2Si(CHR)][(EtO)2Si(CH2)]2 (where R indicates iodine, bromine, or an ethyl group).

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Novel route to periodic mesoporous aminosilicas, PMAs: ammonolysis of periodic mesoporous organosilicas.

A new route to periodic mesoporous aminosilicas (PMAs) that contain amine functional groups in the framework of a mesoporous network is reported. The materials are prepared via thermal ammonolysis of periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) under a flow of ammonia gas. PMOs integrate similar or even higher quantities of nitrogen-containing groups upon ammonolysis than similarly treated ordered mesoporous silicas (MCM-41). The quantity of amine groups introduced into the materials was found to depend strongly on the ammonolysis temperature. The largest loading of amine groups was obtained when a well-ordered cubic methylene PMO material without prior vacuum-drying was thermolyzed in ammonia. The ordered mesoporosity of PMOs was preserved during the ammonolysis with only a slight decrease in the mesopore size and the degree of mesostructural ordering. The extent of substitution of framework oxygen by amine and nitride groups was established by solid-state (29)Si CP-MAS, (29)Si MAS, (15)N MAS, and (13)C CP-MAS NMR spectroscopies, elemental analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In some cases, methylene and methyl functional groups were also present in the PMAs along with amine functional groups, as inferred from elemental analysis and gas adsorption, particularly in cases where PMOs were subjected to ammonolysis at 400 and 550 degrees C for several hours. This resulted in new multifunctional mesoporous organoaminosilica nanomaterials with properties that could be tuned by systematically varying the relative amounts of hydrophilic amine and hydrophobic hydrocarbon pendent and framework groups. The stability upon storage was found to be much higher for PMAs obtained from PMOs than for those obtained from MCM-41 silicas under the same conditions.

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Lanthanum strontium manganite/yttria-stabilized zirconia nanocomposites derived from a surfactant assisted, co-assembled mesoporous phase.

A one-pot, soft-chemistry, surfactant-assisted co-assembly approach to prepare La(1-x)Sr(x)MnO(3) (LSM)/Y(2)O(3)-stabilized ZrO(2) (YSZ) nanocomposites for use as solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathodes has been investigated. This material with sub-hundred nanometer grain sizes for each phase is the first such nanocomposite where aqueous-based precursors of each component are incorporated in a single synthetic step. This approach utilizes the co-assembly of an anionic yttrium/zirconium acetatoglycolate gel, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the cationic surfactant template, and inorganic La, Mn, and Sr salts under alkaline aqueous conditions. The resulting as-synthesized product is an amorphous mesostructured organic/inorganic composite, which is transformed to a mesoporous inorganic oxide with nanocrystalline YSZ walls upon calcination. Calcination to temperatures above 600 degrees C lead to collapse of the mesopores followed by further crystallization of the nanocrystalline YSZ phase and a final crystallization of the LSM perovskite phase above 1000 degrees C. Both the fully crystalline LSM/YSZ and the mesoporous intermediate phase have been investigated for phase homogeneity by TEM energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) mapping and spot analysis which confirm the dispersion of LSM within a YSZ matrix at the nanometer scale. Impedance spectroscopy analysis of LSM/YSZ nanocomposite electrodes demonstrate a low polarization resistance of around 0.2 omega cm(2) with an activation energy (E(a)) as low as 1.42 eV. Cathodic polarization studies show stable current densities over a 40 h test demonstration.

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Electronically addressable SnO2 inverted opal gas sensors fabricated on interdigitated gold microelectrodes.

Electronically addressable thin films of tin oxide gas sensors with well-defined opaline microstructures and reproducible sensor-to-sensor responses have been fabricated on interdigitated gold microelectrodes through self-assembly growth of a monodisperse polystyrene latex film onto the electrodes followed by infiltration of tin tert-butoxide and calcination of the film.

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Synthesis and properties of 1,3,5-benzene periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO): novel aromatic PMO with three point attachments and unique thermal transformations.

A new aromatic periodic mesoporous organosilica material containing benzene functional groups that are symmetrically integrated with three silicon atoms in an organosilica mesoporous framework is reported. The material has a high surface area, well-ordered mesoporous structure and thermally stable framework aromatic groups. The functional aromatic moieties were observed to undergo sequential thermal transformation from a three to two and then to a one point attachment within the framework upon continuous thermolysis under air before eventually being converted to periodic mesoporous silica devoid of aromatic groups at high temperatures and longer pyrolysis times. The mesoporosity of the material was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nitrogen porosimetry, whereas the presence and transformation of the aromatic groups in the walls of the materials were characterized by solid-state NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The attachment of a benzene ring symmetrically onto three siloxanes of the framework was used advantageously as a cross-linker to enhance the thermal stability of the organic group. Some of these properties are investigated in comparison with other aromatic PMOs that have only two point attachments and an amorphous phenylsilica gel that has only one point attachment. The successful synthesis of the first aromatic PMO with its organic group attached within the framework through more than two points is an important step toward the synthesis of PMOs having organic groups with more complex and multiple attachments within the framework.

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Polyferrocenylsilane microspheres: synthesis, mechanism of formation, size and charge tunability, electrostatic self-assembly, and pyrolysis to spherical magnetic ceramic particles.

Pt(0)-catalyzed ring-opening precipitation copolymerization of [1]silaferrocenophanes fcSiMe(2) (3) and the spirocyclic cross-linker fcSi(CH(2))(3) (4) (fc = Fe(eta(5)-C(5)H(4))(2)) was used to prepare polyferrocenylsilane microspheres (PFSMSs) under mild conditions. By varying the reaction conditions, a wide variety of other morphologies was obtained. The effects of temperature, monomer ratio, solvent composition, catalyst concentration, and time on the observed morphology were investigated and interpreted in terms of a mechanism for microsphere formation. The most well-defined particles were formed using equimolar amounts of 3 and 4, in a 50:50 mixture of xylenes and decane at 60 degrees C with gentle agitation. Chemical oxidation of the polymeric microspheres led to positively charged particles (OPFSMSs) which underwent electrostatically driven self-assembly with negatively charged silica microspheres to form core-corona composite particles. Redox titration with controlled amounts of the one-electron oxidant [N(C(6)H(4)Br-p)(3)][PF(6)] in acetonitrile led to the oxidation of the outer 0.15 microm (ca. 32%) of the PFSMSs. The resulting OPFSMSs were reduced back to their neutral form by reaction with hydrazine in methanol. Pyrolysis of the PFSMSs led to spherical magnetic ceramic replicas with tunable magnetic properties that organize into ordered 2-D arrays at the air-water interface under the influence of a magnetic field.

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Metamorphosis of ordered mesopores to micropores: periodic silica with unprecedented loading of pendant reactive organic groups transforms to periodic microporous silica with tailorable pore size.

Ordered porous silicas with unprecedented loadings of pendant vinyl groups have been synthesized via co-condensation of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and triethoxyvinylsilane (TEVS) under basic conditions in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium surfactant. The resulting organosilicate-surfactant composites exhibited at least one low-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak up to the TEVS:TEOS molar ratio of 7:3 (70% TEVS loading) in the synthesis gel. The surfactant was removed from these composites without any structural collapse. Nitrogen adsorption provided strong evidence of the presence of uniformly sized pores and the lack of phase separation up to TEVS:TEOS ratios as high as 13:7 (65% TEVS loading), whereas (29)Si MAS NMR and high-resolution thermogravimetry showed essentially quantitative incorporation of the organosilane. Thus, a hitherto unachieved loading level for pendant groups, considered by many to be impossible to achieve for stable organosilicas because of the expected framework connectivity constraints, has been obtained. The resulting vinyl-functionalized silicas exhibited gradually decreasing pore diameter (from 2.8 to 1.7 nm for TEVS loadings of 25-65%) and pore volume as the loading of pendant groups increased, but the specific surface area was relatively constant. Because of the reactivity of vinyl groups, ordered silicas with very high loadings of these groups are expected to be robust starting materials for the synthesis of other organic-functionalized ordered microporous materials. Herein, we demonstrate that these starting materials can also be transformed via calcination into ordered microporous silicas with pore diameters tailorable from 2.5 to as little as 1.4 nm simply by using an appropriate loading of the vinyl-functionalized precursor. This ease of the micropore size adjustment and the attained degree of structural ordering (as judged from XRD) have not been reported before. The novel ordered microporous materials reported herein are promising as adsorbents and catalyst supports.

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Genesis of nanostructured, magnetically tunable ceramics from the pyrolysis of cross-linked polyferrocenylsilane networks and formation of shaped macroscopic objects and micron scale patterns by micromolding inside silicon wafers.

The ability to form molded or patterned metal-containing ceramics with tunable properties is desirable for many applications. In this paper we describe the evolution of a ceramic from a metal-containing polymer in which the variation of pyrolysis conditions facilitates control of ceramic structure and composition, influencing magnetic and mechanical properties. We have found that pyrolysis under nitrogen of a well-characterized cross-linked polyferrocenylsilane network derived from the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of a spirocyclic [1]ferrocenophane precursor gives shaped macroscopic magnetic ceramics consisting of alpha-Fe nanoparticles embedded in a SiC/C/Si(3)N(4) matrix in greater than 90% yield up to 1000 degrees C. Variation of the pyrolysis temperature and time permitted control over the nucleation and growth of alpha-Fe particles, which ranged in size from around 15 to 700 A, and the crystallization of the surrounding matrix. The ceramics contained smaller alpha-Fe particles when prepared at temperatures lower than 900 degrees C and displayed superparamagnetic behavior, whereas the materials prepared at 1000 degrees C contained larger alpha-Fe particles and were ferromagnetic. This flexibility may be useful for particular materials applications. In addition, the composition of the ceramic was altered by changing the pyrolysis atmosphere to argon, which yielded ceramics that contain Fe(3)Si(5). The ceramics have been characterized by a combination of physical techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction, TEM, reflectance UV-vis/near-IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, XPS, SQUID magnetometry, Mössbauer spectroscopy, nanoindentation, and SEM. Micromolding of the spirocyclic [1]ferrocenophane precursor within soft lithographically patterned channels housed inside silicon wafers followed by thermal ROP and pyrolysis enabled the formation of predetermined micron scale designs of the magnetic ceramic.

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